''Lysichiton'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

. These plants are known commonly as skunk cabbage or less often as swamp lantern. The spelling ''Lysichitum'' is also found. The genus has two species, one found in north-east

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

(

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

), the other in north-west

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...

to Santa Cruz County in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

).Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Biota of North America Program county distribution map
/ref>

Description

''Lysichiton'' has flowers which are typical of those of the family to which it belongs (the arum family or

). The individual flowers are small and are tightly packed on a fleshy stem called a spadix which is surrounded by a white or yellow but otherwise leaf-like bract called a

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

. The spathe is hooded or boat-shaped at the top. ''Lysichiton'' has flowers with both male and female parts present (

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

), unlike many other aroids. After fertilization, the green

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s become embedded in the spadix; each fruit usually has two seeds but may have up to four. Several large leaves appear either just before flowering or soon afterwards; each has a short stalk ( petiole). Plants die down to a vertical

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

in winter., in

Taxonomy

The genus ''Lysichiton'' was described by Heinrich Schott in 1857. The name is derived from two Greek words: (''lysis'', dissolve) and (''chiton'', armour), referring to the armour-like spathe enclosing the inflorescence that withers soon after flowering. Schott used two variants of this name in his original publication: one with a Latinized ending, ''Lysichitum'', and the other with a Greek ending, ''Lysichiton''. In two later publications he used only the second variant. Only one species was assigned to the genus, ''Lysichiton camtschatcensis''. In a paper published in 1932,

Eric Hultén Oskar Eric Gunnar Hultén (18 March 1894 – 1 February 1981) was a Swedish botanist, plant geographer and 20th century explorer of The Arctic. He was born in Halla in Södermanland. He took his licentiate exam 1931 at Stockholm University and obt ...

and Harold St. John separated American plants into a second species. They decided that Schott's ''Lysichitum'' was correct under the rules of botanical nomenclature; accordingly older sources use this spelling as the generic name for both species. In 1956 they revised their view and decided that the correct generic name was the one which was adopted latest by Schott, namely ''Lysichiton''. This is the spelling now used., search for "Lysichiton" Along with other members of the subfamily Orontioideae, ''Lysichiton'' has been placed in a group of "proto-aroids", which appear to have evolved before the characteristic features of most aroids emerged. Thus the genus has flowers which retain small

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and which are bisexual, whereas more "advanced" aroids have unisexual flowers without petals.

Species

This genus includes two species and the hybrid between them which occurred in cultivation: *''

Lysichiton americanus ''Lysichiton americanus'', also called western skunk cabbage (US), yellow skunk cabbage (UK), American skunk-cabbage (Britain and Ireland) or swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pac ...

'' Hultén & H.St.John – Western skunk cabbage, Western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

*''

Lysichiton camtschatcensis ''Lysichiton camtschatcensis'', common name Asian skunk cabbage, white skunk cabbage, Far Eastern swamp lantern or Japanese swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Kamchatka Peninsula, ...

'' (L.) Schott – Asian skunk cabbage, Northeastern

* ''Lysichiton'' × ''hortensis'' J.D.Arm. & B.W.Phillips – Hybrid swamp lantern These two species were originally considered conspecific, under the earlier-described name ''L. camtschatcensis''. The most obvious difference between them lies in the spathe, which is yellow with a green-suffused apex in ''L. americanus'' and white with at most a small amount of green at the apex in ''L. camtscatcensis''. There are also differences in the leaves. At flowering time these are almost undeveloped in ''L. camtschatcensis'', but about half grown in ''L. americanus''. ''Lysichiton americanus'' has broader leaves, rounded at the base, with glossy upper surfaces, whereas ''L. camtschatcensis'' has less broad leaves, more pointed at the base, with dull, somewhat grey-green (glaucous) upper surfaces.

Uses

Both species, but particularly ''L. americanus'', have been used as ornamental garden plants. ''L. americanus'' was introduced into cultivation in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1901 and has escaped to become naturalized in marshy areas in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The hybrid between the two species occurred in cultivation, and is larger than either parent, with a less unpleasant scent. ''Lysichiton americanus'' was used by

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

in various ways. See ''Lysichiton americanus'': Other uses.

Notes and references

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1784347 Araceae genera Orontioideae Taxa named by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott